Scope and Content Note
The Burt Boyar Collection of Sammy Davis, Jr. Biographical Materials consists of drafts, galleys and page proofs for the books Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr. and Sammy: An Autobiography, thirty-five cassette tapes with interviews conducted by Boyar and his wife Jane for their book Why Me?: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story, and digital media and text files of Davis appearances, recordings and interviews stored on a portable hard drive. These materials span the years 1954 to 2000 with the majority dating from 1965 to 1988.
Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr. (1965) is represented by typescript drafts, master galleys, unbound galleys, page proofs, uncorrected proofs, and uncut proofs and signatures. A portion of this material has been arranged under the book's three preliminary titles: Everybody Else Had A Raincoat; Yes I Can: The Autobiography of Sammy Davis, Jr.; and Yes I Can: The Story of a Negro in a White World. Each title contains significant quantities of draft materials annotated by Davis, Burt and Jane Boyar, and others.
The Boyars conducted a series of taped interviews with Davis between 1985 and 1988 for Why Me?, their 1989 biography of Davis. The recording sessions mainly take place in Los Angeles, with a few sessions held in Reno, Nevada, or at Caesar's Palace and the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. In these interviews, which typically last two hours per tape, Davis is very forthcoming about his life and career. He talks candidly about his difficulties with alcohol and drug abuse, his three marriages, and his relationship with his children. He also shares his thoughts and feelings about politics and social issues, such as civil rights, and his relationships with Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
Many of Davis' stories focus upon the entertainment business, including his membership in the Rat Pack, performing at various venues, explanations of his signature song "Mr. Bojangles," and his friendships with fellow celebrities, such as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Lewis, Bill Cosby, Shirley MacLaine, and Burt Reynolds. Although the vast majority of the recordings feature Davis, there are also brief interviews with Altovise, his third wife, on tapes 32 and 34. She discusses meeting Davis for the first time, their courtship, and her role as his sister in the Broadway production of Golden Boy. Additionally, she expounds on her membership in the charity organization Share Happily and Reap Endlessly, dancing in the musical High Sprits, and her friendship with actress Lucille Ball. These cassettes were originally numbered sequentially to 38, although tapes 1, 29, and 30 are unaccounted for. They are housed in the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division where they were assigned shelf numbers as indicated in this finding aid.
A portable hard drive, also housed in the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, contains digital media and text files. The digital audio files document radio, television, and live appearances by Sammy Davis, Jr., as well as a number of his commercially released recordings. Also included are digital versions of complete interviews and excerpts of interviews originally recorded during the 1980s.